Merry Christmas Hope
by Arukuu-Chan
Summary: It's coming up to Christmas time, and Arc and Refia's family life seemed to be going smoothly. But, when Refia takes ill, will Christmas even go well? ArcxRefia. Sequel to Little Bundles of Joy.


**Happy Christmas everyone! I'm back with a little Christmas fic and all that (joys...) As you have read by the description, it's a sequel to one of my earlier works. Plus, this all has a little twist. So, first off, I don't own FFIII or Luneth, Arc or Refia, but in a way I sorta own any OCs in here? They're all just our fave characters' kids so...**

**Enjoy...**

* * *

It was that time of the year again. That time of the year where snow would start to fall and it would cover the lands below like a huge white blanket. That time of year where, well, everything was hectic. That's right, Christmas was just around the corner and there were people rushing about getting ready for it. There were last-minute buyers, annoying carollers - as some neighbours such as Luneth had described them as - and then there were the people who were prepared and all and simply sat inside away from everything. This was basically Arc and Refia's family.

In a way, they weren't as calm and relaxed. Seeing as they had been dealing with their twins for four years and they were always so hyper and full of energy - especially coming up to Christmas. But really, what child wasn't excited for Christmas?

As well as that, Refia was pregnant again and the baby wasn't due until around the start to the middle of January. With the pregnancy and the whole hassle of Christmas getting in the way, it was a little stressful. But Refia honestly didn't care and she was just glad she was having another child again.

It was almost like a Christmas gift to them all. Arc and Refia both knew the difficulties of conception for Refia, so they were obviously quite happy when they received the news. All they had to do was get through Christmas and finally have the baby in January. And of course, probably the more excited people waiting for the baby coming had to be the twins.

"Daddy, what are you doing?" Alice asked politely as she watched her father flick through what seemed to be a baby names book.

"I'm looking up names for your little brother or sister." Arc looked up from the book and smiled at Alice.

"Again?" Lucca had run into the room and groaned at his father as if that was all he had done. "You're still doing that?"

"Your mother and I can't seem to make up our minds!" Arc chuckled, putting down the book and tousling his son's brown hair.

"But it shouldn't take you that long to name it..." Lucca muttered as he fixed his hair.

"Yes, but we don't know whether we're having a brother or sister yet, silly!" Alice giggled, swinging back and forth.

"As well as that, there are a lot of names to choose from." Arc added for Alice. "And we have plenty of time until he or she is born, so there might be a few changes here and there." He smiled.

"What are you hoping it will be, daddy?" Alice asked innocently, continuing to swing back and forth. She was definitely a smart girl but she looked so innocent when she tried to be.

"I honestly don't mind." Arc answered his daughter, still smiling.

"You have more names for a girl than you do for a boy..." Lucca observed, looking at a sheet of paper beside Arc's book. Down on the left side there was a column for boys' names, and on the right side there was a column for girls' names. Down the middle was a column for unisex names, but it was hardly filled with any names.

Arc looked down at the page in realisation. His son was right. "Huh, so I do..."

The twins giggled at how their father was quite slow that night.

"It's hard choosing names!" Arc protested.

"I bet it is, daddy." Lucca scoffed in disbelief, not realising how difficult it actually was to name someone.

"If you ever have children of your own and you have trouble naming them, you'll know the half of it." Arc laughed.

"Can we help you?" Alice asked, looking at Lucca who was nodding eagerly.

Arc grinned, beckoning them up beside him. "Come on then!"

The twins giggled, scrambling up onto the sofa beside their father. Both sat on either side of him, and both stared at the book, waiting for their father to open the book and they would all scroll through the many names on each page.

Arc looked on his children on either side of him. "What letter do you want to start off with?

"B!" The twins exclaimed with massive grins on their small, dimpled faces.

Arc chuckled, opening the book. "Okay then."

For awhile, Arc, Alice and Lucca had gone through the names that had appealed to them. They had eventually gotten more names for boys, and even some unisex names. Well, after Arc explained what the term 'unisex' meant. Eventually, they filled the whole page, and the three all fell asleep together on the sofa.

Refia walked down the stairs and into the living-room - not realising it was later in the morning and she had gone to bed without Arc. So, she got a bit of a surprise when she found the three all fast asleep on the sofa. But it was a nice surprise for Refia.

Refia giggled, rubbing her stomach as she walked over to her sleeping children and her sleeping husband. She found the sheet where the three victims of sleep had written on the night before. Refia lifted the piece of paper and began looking through all the names.

Refia seemed pretty impressed judging by the few smiles on her face every time she read a new name. She looked down at her bulging stomach and smiled. "You really have a wonderful family..." She whispered as she rubbed her stomach. Refia looked up again to look at her sleeping family, but found Arc smirking at her with one eye open.

"Morning..." Arc whispered to her, still smirking at her.

"I see you've put the children to bed." Refia said sarcastically, giggling as she leaned down and kissed Arc's lips.

"I seem to be a comfortable pillow, since I haven't heard a peep out of them." Arc chuckled softly, looking down at their children.

"That's a first." Refia giggled again.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Arc asked Refia. He knew Refia hadn't been herself for a few days and it had begun to worry him.

"Still a little off..." Refia murmured, rubbing her temples.

"Have you contacted Annabelle?" Arc asked worriedly, already feeling himself tensing up.

"Yes, but she said it should clear up soon." Refia quickly reassured him.

"If it gets any worse, I'll take you to the infirmary."

Refia nodded, smiling at how her husband could care for her so much. "It's a deal then."

Over the next few days, Refia wasn't getting any better. She looked very pale, and would have spent a lot of her time in bed. It was already Christmas Eve, and Arc had protested for Refia to go to the nearest infirmary.

"But what about the twins?" Refia whispered, trying to at least sound as if she was protesting, but you couldn't tell.

"I'll take care of them, and no doubt Luneth will come over and help me." Arc replied, stroking his wife's hair.

"Maybe I should go..." Refia murmured, rubbing her eyes. "I'm really not feeling great..."

"Here, I'll help you up..." Arc said to her, helping her out of bed.

Refia had eventually been sent to the infirmary in Sasune to be kept in observation overnight. Still, Refia wasn't feeling any better but Annabelle soon started to treat her. Arc didn't hear anything from the two for awhile and tried not to worry. But really, Arc would get worried, no matter what happened.

The day soon rolled on and it was already Christmas Day. It had gotten further into the evening, and Refia still hadn't returned home. Arc hadn't even received word from Refia and Annabelle, and it started to worry him again.

"So, any word from Refia yet?" Luneth whispered to Arc who was just sitting across from him. In his arms he held his daughter - who was also of four years old like the twins - who was fast asleep.

"Nope..." Arc murmured, fiddling with his gloves. He still had his gloves from when he was just a teen and when he was younger, Arc used to fiddle with them when he was nervous. And Luneth could tell that Arc was nervous right now.

"Refia's a strong one," Luneth said to Arc. "She'll pull through. We both know that!"

"She didn't look strong when I sent her to the infirmary..." Arc muttered, still fiddling with his gloves.

Luneth frowned. "I know..." He admitted grumpily.

"Maybe I should stop worrying so much..." Arc murmured, finally stopping his constant fiddling and looked up Luneth. "I mean she's in good hands, a-and there's much else I can do..."

"See? I'm sure she'll be back on her feet as soon as you know it!" Luneth grinned, trying to reassure him.

The front door to the house had opened, letting in an icy-chill air into the living room. Mognet had appeared at the door. But judging by the look on his face – and the way he kept staring at Arc and looking away – he wasn't there for a whole-hearted conversation. His face was fully of gloom and worry. A face which was pointed straight at Arc. "Annabelle wants you at the infirmary."

Arc looked at Mognet completely dumbfounded.

"She wants you there now."

Arc quickly – if not nearly bolted – out of his seat and quickly walked into the other room to get clothing to suit him for the cold weather outside.

Luneth looked at Mognet worriedly. "Is Refia okay?" He asked.

"Would I be here if she was?" Mognet replied back.

Luneth bit his lip worriedly. _Arc isn't going to like this… _He thought to himself. And he was right. Arc had already worried enough. For all they both knew, he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Arc had quickly walked back into the room – with at least a couple of layers of clothing on him – and made his way straight to the front door. He looked back at Luneth. "Could you take care of the twins?"

Luneth nodded. "Sure."

As soon as this was answered, Arc had ran out the door and already made his way up to Sasune. Mognet – being the kind Moogle he is – shut the door behind them both as they made their separate ways and left Luneth alone in the house.

* * *

Arc rushed his way up the corridor in the Sasune infirmary. All the way from Ur up to Sasune, Arc had been worrying sick about Refia. He had no idea what was going on, and that was what had worked him up. _Please be okay, please be okay… _Arc kept repeating over and over in his head. He truly hoped that his wife was okay. Then he was instantly reminded of something else. The welfare of his child.

Arc was about to dash around the corner until Annabelle appeared. He slowed down, but his heart started thumping so hard that he felt it would just burst out of his chest. Judging by the look on her face, there was bound to be bad news.

"Arc…" Annabelle murmured in a quiet and somewhat sad tone.

"Is everything okay?" Arc silently gulped. He soon regretted this though. _Why the hell did you ask that? _Arc thought irritated to himself. _If she's called me here and she's looking at me like that, then everything's obviously __**not **__okay! _

"…maybe you should come with me." Annabelle said quietly to Arc, nudging her head as a signal to follow her. So the two quietly walked through the hallways with Annabelle walking in front of Arc to guide him to the right room.

"Is Refia okay?" Arc asked worriedly, feeling his throat go dry.

"She's recovering..." Annabelle replied, fiddling with her hands as they walked along. "…you just need to see your son."

Arc stopped in the middle of the hallway, speechless after what Annabelle had said reached his ears. He didn't understand. Their child wasn't due until January and yet…

Annabelle stopped and turned around, facing Arc. "Your son isn't holding out very well." She said sadly.

Arc continued standing there, still speechless and very surprised by the events unfolding around him. "You mean…?" He managed to open his mouth and a few words had just managed to come out.

Annabelle folded her arms and nodded. "He's come a bit earlier than expected…"

Arc cleared his throat. He looked up at Annabelle. "…can I see him?"

Annabelle nodded, and beckoned him to follow him again.

So, the two once again trekked up the hallways of the infirmary. The walk up through the hallways felt too long for Arc. He kept worrying about the welfare of his son. Would he hold out until he got the proper care he needed? Would he even live to see the next day? Arc didn't know how Refia would react, or even how she reacted at the time. He knew it wasn't a good reaction anyway. He just regretted not being there when Refia was obviously giving birth to their son. Just when he was about to worry some more, Annabelle stopped at a room. Arc's heart was practically thumping at this point.

Annabelle opened the door for Arc and stood there looking at him. "I'll stand at the door if you want?"

Arc nodded, as he walked through the door into a small, dimly-lit room. He managed to make his way through it though, as nothing was blocking his way and he could clearly see a cot at the end of the room. And he just knew his son was in that cot.

Arc wasn't sure how to feel. He felt scared if he lost his son due to him being born prematurely but he felt happy that he might be able to hold his child earlier than planned. Arc was just experiencing confused emotions, and his head was just scrambled.

Arc had eventually walked over to the cot, and he was right about what was in it.

Inside the cot was a small, fragile-looking baby, wrapped up in a good number of blankets. He did not look well at all, considering his pale looks and how shaky the baby was. But it wasn't all that Arc had focused on. His son had thick ginger hair and from what Arc could tell, his son had red eyes, just like his mother. All in all, the boy was the splitting image of his mother.

"I had him kept in here…just away from everyone else."

Arc turned his head at the voice. He had completely forgotten about Annabelle – who was now walking towards him with her arms folded. "Do you think he'll…?" Arc couldn't bear to say the next word. He still stared down at his son, fearing if he looked away, he would miss something. Arc didn't even blink.

Annabelle looked down for a moment, trying to avoid looking at poor Arc. Although, that wouldn't work, since this would only make Annabelle guilty. It saddened her to see Arc just looking at his son like that, where he couldn't do anything to help him. She had dealt with a lot of situations like this, but this was by far one of the most difficult things she's had to been put through.

Annabelle finally found the strength – and most importantly the courage – to look at Arc, who had turned around to face her. His eyes were full of sadness, a sadness that was rarely seen in Arc's eyes. "…we don't think he'll make it…" Annabelle managed to utter out in a sad tone.

Arc stood there, trying to take that in. "…can I at least hold him?"

Annabelle nodded, trying to smile a bit. "Go ahead."

Arc turned around once more, and reached his arms down into the cot to pick up his son. He tried to be extra careful, since this wasn't an average sized baby, and he was quite fragile. He quickly took his son up into his arms, and held him tightly and quite closely. The boy squirmed a little in Arc's arms, as if he were fighting to get out of them. Arc chuckled a little bit, trying to get him settled. "You're fighter, aren't you?"

The boy eventually stopped squirming and settled down in Arc's arm, feeling a bit more content.

Arc smiled sadly as he watched his son. "He takes after his mother…" He whispered, gently stroking the boy's hair with his finger.

"He does, doesn't he?" Annabelle chuckled a little. She continued to look at Arc and his son. She then dared to ask, "Do you have a name for him?"

Arc looked up at Annabelle with the question almost bringing him to tears. "We've got too many tears to choose from."

"Refia was telling me you and the twins were up all night coming up with names."

"Is she okay?" Arc asked, forgetting that Refia must have also been in a critical condition.

"Refia's fine." Annabelle reassured him.

For some reason, Arc didn't seem to believe that. It wasn't as if Annabelle would lie to him, she would be bluntly honest with anything and everything. And Annabelle could tell that Arc doubted all of this._ I really hope she is…_ Arc thought worriedly to himself.

* * *

Refia shifted around in her bed. She had been constantly rolling over every five to ten minutes, as if she was irritated by something. There wouldn't be much of a surprise if she was irritated; she _did _just give birth to a baby that wasn't due until less than a month later.

After constant tossing and turning in the bed, Refia eventually settled down and started to wake up.

Arc was sitting next to her, stroking her hair while waiting for her to wake up.

Refia's eyes slowly fluttered open and she found Arc right next to her. She narrowed her eyes a little, looking a little worried that Arc was right next to her. "...Arc?" She tried to move a little, but she felt a bit busy and was only stopped by Arc.

"Shh, you're okay..." Arc whispered, still stroking Refia's hair.

It all felt like a sort of dream for Refia. All she could remember was coming to the infirmary to be kept in for observation and then, she suddenly found herself giving birth. After that, Refia had just blacked out.

Refia then had a sudden realisation. Where was her child? She looked at Arc with tear filled eyes. "W-where's...?" She couldn't bring herself to say it. Refia started to feel shaky and she was starting to feel frightened.

"He's fine."

Arc and Refia turned their heads and found a smiling Annabelle standing not far from them. In Annabelle's arms was the same small child Arc had held not long before. He was still wrapped up in the bundles of cloth he was in before.

Annabelle smiled, walking over to the couple. "And I think he's been waiting patiently to see you."

Once Refia had sat up and got comfortable, Annabelle guided the boy into Refia's arms. It was pretty easy for Refia now, since she had already gone through this with twins. She was just a lot more careful, since this baby was quite small and a lot more fragile. Refia couldn't take her eyes off of her son. He looked just like her, and she couldn't get over it. Refia didn't even notice that Annabelle had left them alone in the room.

Arc smiled as Refia continued looking down at their son. He edged closer to them both, and he looked down at the boy who was completely content in Refia's arms. Then, Arc couldn't help but pop out the question. "What do you want to name him?"

Refia looked at Arc, with tears streaming down her face – happy tears of course. "…Hope."

Arc looked down at their son and couldn't help but let a smile creep onto his face. "I think that suits him…"

Refia giggled a little. "I think it suits him just right…"

* * *

**Yep. I just had to write that. Hope is pretty much born on Christmas Day, prompting me to write this for Christmas! So, R&R! **


End file.
